WALES

Departmental Domestic Visits

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many meetings the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State has held in the Wales Office in Cardiff since his appointment.

David Jones: I have had one meeting so far.

Departmental Domestic Visits

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many meetings she has had with the Welsh First Minister since her appointment.

Cheryl Gillan: To date I have met the First Minister five times since my appointment and we have had several telephone conversations.

Departmental Domestic Visits

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many times she has visited Wales since her appointment.

Cheryl Gillan: To date I have spent seven days working in Wales.

Departmental Domestic Visits

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many times the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State has visited the National Assembly for Wales since his appointment.

David Jones: Once.

Departmental Domestic Visits

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what bilateral meetings the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State has had with Welsh Assembly Government Ministers since his appointment.

David Jones: None, although future meetings have been arranged.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Future Jobs Fund: North East

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the effect on the level of employment in  (a) the north east and  (b) England of the ending of the Future Jobs Fund; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling: At up to £6,500 per placement, the Future Jobs Fund is five times more expensive than other aspects of the Young Persons Guarantee, making it poorer value for money. As we emerge from a recession with a huge budget deficit, it is right that the Government take decisive steps to secure long lasting benefits rather than temporary changes to unemployment. Next year we will introduce our new Work Programme, which will bring better targeted and more effective support to young people and the unemployed.

Future Jobs Fund: West Midlands

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people resident in  (a) Dudley North,  (b) the borough of Dudley and  (c) the west midlands are participating in the Future Jobs Fund.

Chris Grayling: This information is not available for how many people resident in Dudley North and the borough of Dudley are participating in the Future Jobs Fund.
	For the West Midlands, the latest release of official statistics show that 940 people started Future Jobs Fund jobs between October 2009 and January 2010.

Future Jobs Fund: West Midlands

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his most recent assessment is of the effect on levels of employment of abolishing the Future Jobs Fund in  (a) the west midlands and  (b) Coventry.

Chris Grayling: At up to £6,500 per placement, the Future Jobs Fund is five times more expensive than other aspects of the Young Persons Guarantee, making it poorer value for money. As we emerge from a recession with a huge budget deficit, it is right that the Government take decisive steps to secure long lasting benefits rather than temporary changes to unemployment. Next year we will introduce our new Work Programme, which will bring better targeted and more effective support to young people and the unemployed.

Future Jobs Fund: West Midlands

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his most recent estimate is of the number of people who have found employment through the Future Jobs Fund in  (a) the west midlands and  (b) Coventry.

Chris Grayling: The information is as follows:
	 (a) The latest release of Official Statistics, covering the October 2009 to January 2010 period, shows that 940 people started the Future Jobs Fund in the west midlands.
	 (b) This information is not available in the format requested.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department budgeted for advertising tackling benefit fraud in 2010-11.

Chris Grayling: We are reviewing all advertising expenditure and any requests for funding will be submitted to HM Treasury for approval.

Social Security Benefits: Overpayments

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of gross overpayments of benefit in the most recent year for which figures are available; and what plans he has to reduce overpayments.

Chris Grayling: The latest estimates of overpayments as a result of fraud and error are contained in the Department for Work and Pensions publication "Fraud and Error in the Benefit System: October 2008 to September 2009", copies of which are available in the Library.
	We will be looking carefully at the Department's approach to controlling fraud and error to ensure all possible steps are taken to tackle it more effectively.

DEFENCE

Chinook Helicopters

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many crashes and near misses involving Chinooks owned and operated by the armed forces have been recorded in each of the last 10 years.

Nick Harvey: The number of crashes and near misses for Chinooks are listed in the following table:
	
		
			   Crashes  Near misses 
			 2000 0 0 
			 2001 0 0 
			 2002 0 3 
			 2003 0 0 
			 2004 0 2 
			 2005 0 3 
			 2006 1 1 
			 2007 0 1 
			 2008 0 3 
			 2009 2 4 
		
	
	A crash has been defined as a major incident involving irreparable damage to the aircraft. This excludes occasions where Chinooks have incurred damage that can be repaired either in theatre or in the UK. A near miss has been taken to be an air proximity hazard, the formal definition of which is an incident in which, in the opinion of a pilot or controller, the distance between aircraft as well as their relative positions and speeds have been such that the safety of the aircraft involved was or may have been compromised.

Defence Storage and Distribution Agency

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for future ownership arrangements of the Defence Storage and Distribution Agency.

Peter Luff: The Treasury-led Operational Efficiency Programme made a number of recommendations regarding the future of the Defence Storage and Distribution Agency, subject to value for money considerations. The Ministry of Defence is currently considering, in consultation with the trade unions, how these recommendations could be delivered. Once this work is complete, I will make a further announcement.

Departmental Official Cars

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) make,  (b) model and  (c) place of manufacture is of the car allocated for the use of each Minister in his Department.

Andrew Robathan: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for West Bromwich East (Mr Watson) on 9 June 2010,  Official Report, column 180W.

Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the future ownership arrangements of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

Nick Harvey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 7 June 2010,  Official Report, column 11W, to the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Jones).

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on the testing of surveillance drones over the proposed land corridor between Aberporth and Epynt; what account this policy takes of the right to privacy of individuals resident within the corridor; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: The approved airspace corridor from Parc Aberporth will be used to enable the Watchkeeper unmanned air system to fly to the Sennybridge Training Area in Mynydd Epynt, mid-Wales, where it will undergo trials. Sensors and surveillance equipment will be switched off during transit through the air corridor; therefore the privacy of residents will be unaffected.

TREASURY

Aggregates Levy

Mike Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to review the level of aggregates levy tax.

Justine Greening: Decisions on the rate of aggregates levy are taken by the Chancellor as part of the Budget process.

Departmental Appointments

Helen Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many special advisers  (a) he and  (b) each named Minister in his Department (i) has appointed to date and (ii) plans to appoint.

Tom Watson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) political appointments and  (b) other personal appointments he has made since his appointment; and at what estimated annual cost to the public purse.

Justine Greening: I refer the hon. Members to the answer given by the Prime Minister on 3 June 2010,  Official Report, column 99W.

Departmental Mobile Phones

Tom Watson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which Ministers in his Department have been issued with  (a) a BlackBerry,  (b) an iPhone,  (c) another make of mobile telephone and  (d) a personal digital assistant supplied by the Department.

Justine Greening: All Treasury Ministers have been issued with centrally provided BlackBerry devices for official use.
	According to central records no additional mobile phones, iPhones or personal digital assistants have been supplied by the Department to Ministers.

Departmental Official Hospitality

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what budget his Department has allocated for entertainment, including alcohol, in each of the next three years.

Justine Greening: The Treasury does not currently have a budget for official entertainment for 2010-11 or later years.
	In the event that any spending is incurred it will be consistent with the Ministerial and Civil Service Codes and be subject to the limits set out in the expenses manual, a copy of which is available online at:
	www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/foi_expensesmanual.pdf
	All expenditure is incurred in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Tom Watson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when and in what form he plans to publish a list of all items of expenditure by his Department over £25,000.

Justine Greening: The Prime Minister has written to Cabinet Ministers(1) reiterating transparency commitments made in the Coalition programme for government, and setting out a timetable for achieving them. In particular, all new items of central Government spending over £25,000 will be published online in an open format from November 2010.
	(1)( )http://www.number10.gov.uk/news/statements-and-articles/2010/05/letter-to-government-departments-on-opening-up-data-51204

Public Expenditure

Iain Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will assess the merits of introducing a needs-based formula for the distribution of central government funding to the regions of England.

Danny Alexander: It is for Government Departments to decide the allocation of their budgets to regions in England. Departments use a variety of means of allocating spending regionally and locally reflecting their own circumstances.

Tax Evasion

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will commission an investigation into the circumstances in which the offences of tax evasion for which Patrick Small and Mary Small were convicted in February 2010 were not detected by HM Revenue and Customs and its predecessor.

David Gauke: The offences for which Mr and Mrs Small were convicted, amounted to Northern Ireland's largest ever tax fraud case, involving the evasion of VAT and income tax on a huge scale. This is demonstrated by the £4.6 million confiscation order made against them by the court.
	The convictions secured are the result of a complex and detailed investigation by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), which started in 2005. The court's decision on this case demonstrates HMRC's ability to both identify tax fraud and successfully address such offences through the courts. The Government have no plans to commission an investigation into these matters.

TRANSPORT

Departmental Official Cars

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the  (a) make,  (b) model and  (c) place of manufacture is of the car allocated for the use of each Minister in his Department.

Michael Penning: The Department for Transport inherited three cars allocated to its Ministers. One is a Toyota Prius T3 and manufactured in Japan and two are Honda Civic ES Hybrids also manufactured in Japan.
	These arrangements are changing following the publication of the new Ministerial Code which contains changes that affect ministerial entitlement to travel by Government car. The Code states that:
	"the number of Ministers with allocated cars and drivers will be kept to a minimum, taking into account security and other relevant considerations. Other Ministers will be entitled to use cars from the Government Car Service Pool as needed".
	The Cabinet Office has provided clarification on how the code should be interpreted. The expectation is that Ministers not in the Cabinet will use the pool service and that Cabinet Ministers who have an allocated car will wish to consider how that car might be utilised by other Ministers within the Department before calls are made on the Government Car Service Pool.
	The Department for Transport and its Government Car and Despatch Agency are working with Departments to effect the transition to the new arrangements.

Departmental Official Hospitality

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what budget his Department has allocated for entertainment, including alcohol, in each of the next three years.

Philip Hammond: My Department has not allocated any budgets to entertainment for the next three years.

Departmental Public Expenditure

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to consult trade unions in  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies concerning deficit reduction plans.

Philip Hammond: The Department for Transport and its agencies have met with the recognised trade unions informally to agree a regular forum to discuss potential impact on departmental activity of the deficit reduction plans.

Langstone Harbour Board: Fees and Charges

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to publish notices of the outcomes of his inquiry into the Langstone Harbour Board dues under Section 31 of the Harbours Act 1964.

Michael Penning: We intend to announce our decision before the end of this month.

Manchester Metrolink

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what cost-benefit analysis his Department has conducted into construction of the 3A phase of Manchester Metrolink extension alone; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport (DfT) awarded final approval to the Manchester Metrolink 3A extensions to Rochdale (via Oldham) and Chorlton in 2008 with an agreed funding contribution of £244 million.
	The decision to award funding was taken by Ministers after officials assessed the business case put forward by Greater Manchester Public Transport Executive (GMPTE). The assessment included a full cost-benefit analysis prepared in line with DfT guidance at that time. DfT officials concluded that these two extensions offered benefits of around £2.50 for every £1 of Government expenditure, in addition to positive impacts on air quality, landscape, safety, accessibility and the wider economy.
	Metrolink 3A also includes an extension to Droylesden. The Department did not fully assess the impact of this other extension given that GMPTE committed to fund this without any contribution from central Government.

Manchester Metrolink

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the review of funding for the Metrolink extensions to be published; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Baker: As announced by HM Treasury on 17 May, the Chief Secretary has asked all Secretaries of State to re-examine all spending approvals granted since 1 January this year. This includes the extensions of the Manchester Metrolink to Ashton-under-Lyne and to East Didsbury. This work is being carried out as quickly as possible following which decisions will be announced.

Motorways: Bridges

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many cattle bridges there are on motorways in England; what the life expectancy of such bridges was when they were built; what programme of replacement the Highways Agency has for such bridges; and what estimate he has made of the cost of this programme.

Michael Penning: There are 376 farm accommodation bridges currently on the motorway network managed by the Highways Agency in England. Accommodation bridges are mainly provided for the use of farmers to cross over from one side of the road to the other to access farmland. There are a further 269 accommodation structures where the farm access passes underneath the motorway. Of this total of 645 structures only 20 are specifically identified on the Agency's inventory database as for the use of cattle, though in practice others will be used for this purpose.
	Accommodation bridges are designed for 120 years design life. All highway structures are subject to a programme of regular inspection, and where necessary repairs are undertaken. There is no specific national programme of replacement of accommodation bridges, and consequently no associated costs have been identified.

Railways: Construction

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  when he expects construction of high speed rail lines connecting London and Heathrow airport with Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds to begin;
	(2)  when he expects construction of a high speed rail line connecting English cities with those in Scotland to begin.

Philip Hammond: A proposed construction timetable will be published prior to public consultation on any section of the national network. The Government's view is that, subject to public consultation and parliamentary approval, enabling works on the first phase of a national network could begin in 2015.
	We will examine every stage in the process to ensure that the project is moving as quickly as possible and is compatible with ensuring value for taxpayer money.

Railways: Construction

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on progress towards establishing a green investment bank; and what his policy is on using such a bank to facilitate the funding of new high speed rail lines. [R]

Philip Hammond: The Government remain committed to the creation of a green investment bank. To date I have had no such discussions on using such a bank to facilitate the funding of a high speed rail network.

Railways: Construction

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of the funding required to construct the planned new high speed rail line will be from the  (a) public purse and  (b) private sector; and if he will make a statement. [R]

Philip Hammond: The report published by HS2 Ltd in March 2010 argued that the most cost efficient way of funding the route elements of a high speed rail network would be through the public purse. However, the Government will explore all options for funding the project. In particular, we will explore the possibility that other very substantial elements-such as stations, interchanges and rolling stock-could be funded in part or in whole by the private sector or other third parties. At this early stage, it is not possible to provide breakdowns.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Carbon Emissions: Business

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  when she plans to publish her Department's proposals on the introduction of mandatory reporting of greenhouse gas emissions under section 85 of the Climate Change Act 2008;
	(2)  when she plans to lay before Parliament a report under section 84 of the Climate Change Act 2008;
	(3)  what recent assessments she has made of the merits of encouraging corporate reporting on emissions defined by her Department as scope 3.

James Paice: DEFRA is currently undertaking a research project and gathering other evidence on the contribution that corporate reporting makes to the UK meeting its climate change objectives and on the associated benefits and costs of reporting. This will include an assessment of the merits of reporting on 'scope 3' emissions (i.e. indirect emissions). A report of this review will be laid before Parliament by 1 December 2010, as required by section 84 of the Climate Change Act 2008. The timetable for decisions on mandatory reporting is still under consideration.

Departmental Flags

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on flying the Union flag each day from each official building for which her Department is responsible.

Richard Benyon: The Department adheres to the current published guidance issued by the Department for Culture Media and Sport for flying the Union flag in respect of those premises having a flag pole under departmental management control.
	The current guidance is available to view at:
	www.culture.gov.uk/flagflying/protocol.html

Departmental Official Residences

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether any domestic properties in the gift of the Government have been allocated to the use of Ministers in her Department.

Richard Benyon: The Department has no domestic properties in its gift for allocation to Ministers.

Departmental Redundancy Pay

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her most recent estimate is of the annual cost to her Department of redundancy payments for  (a) front line and  (b) other staff employed by (i) her Department and (ii) its agencies.

Richard Benyon: The Department has not made any estimate of redundancy costs.

Environmental Stewardship Scheme

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effect on the environmental stewardship scheme introduced in 2010 of moving to a risk-based regulatory system for hill farmers.

James Paice: The new Uplands Entry Level Stewardship strand is based on the existing Environmental Stewardship model. It is a voluntary scheme which rewards existing good practice in environmental land management, and encourages improvements across a range of objectives. A full impact assessment of the planned scheme published in 2008 set out impacts on farmers, delivery bodies and the environment, and can be found on the DEFRA website:
	www.defra.gov.uk
	at:
	www.defra.gov.uk/rural/documents/countryside/uplands/uels-ria.pdf
	First agreements commence in July 2010, and the strand will be subject to evaluation in future to assess the impact of its introduction.

Natural England: Finance

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether Natural England has been required to reduce its budget for 2010-11.

Richard Benyon: The Government's top priority is to tackle the fiscal deficit. DEFRA and its network are committed to delivering £162 million savings out of a total of £6.2 billion savings recently announced for 2010-11 by the Government. Organisations within the DEFRA network, including Natural England, will need to contribute to the savings. For Natural England, this contribution will amount to some £7.5 million.

Nature Conservation

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the implications for her Department's policies of the contents of the third edition of the UN Global Biodiversity Outlook.

Richard Benyon: We have noted the findings of the Global Biodiversity Outlook 3 (GB03) which confirm that the global 2010 biodiversity target has not been met.
	We are working hard to prepare for the landmark Convention on Biological Diversity conference in Nagoya, Japan, in October which will bring together up to 193 parties to consider a framework for tackling global biodiversity loss beyond 2010. The findings and analyses included in GB03 have informed the development of the post-2010 framework, so that it seeks to respond to the underlying drivers of biodiversity loss.
	At Nagoya, we are aiming to adopt strong global post-2010 targets that drive action, and allow parties to set their own national targets within that over-arching framework.
	Following on from Nagoya one of our key priorities will be to deliver a White Paper on the natural environment. We will be making an announcement on the White Paper in the coming weeks.

Rural Development Programme: Yorkshire and the Humber

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the East Peak Innovation Partnership; and what her policy is on maintaining its present level of funding from her Department.

James Paice: East Peak Innovation Partnership is a Local Action Group (LAG) funded under Axis 4 (the bottom up, community-led Leader approach) of the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE). LAGs are managed by the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs).
	East Peak Innovation Partnership is managed by Yorkshire Forward. It is the responsibility of Yorkshire Forward to monitor and evaluate its progress and effectiveness. A formal annual review of the Partnership by Yorkshire Forward took place on 19 May 2010.
	DEFRA has two independent evaluations under way looking at the effectiveness of the Leader approach in England. This will form part of the formal mid-term evaluation (MTE) of the RDPE required by EU regulation, and also a specific piece of economic research that will provide evidence for future policy options. The MTE will report at the end of 2010 and the research project in late July/early August.

Sheep: Tagging

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent estimate she has made of the cost to farmers of electronic tagging of sheep.

James Paice: Detailed information about the cost of implementation in England is provided in the regulatory impact assessment on electronic identification (EID) of sheep and goats. This is available on the DEFRA website:
	www.defra.gov.uk
	at:
	www.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/farmanimal/movements/sheep/documents/ia-sheep100226.pdf

Supermarkets: Competition

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs by what date she intends to implement her plans for an Ombudsman to enforce the Grocery Supply Chain Code of Practice; whether legislation will be required; whether the Ombudsman will have powers to deal with the international supply chain; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Davey: I have been asked to reply.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for St Ives (Andrew George) and the hon. Member for Bassetlaw (John Mann) on 2 June 2010,  Official Report, column 44W.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Departmental Billing

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what percentage of invoices from suppliers to his Department were paid within 10 days of receipt in  (a) March and  (b) April 2010.

John Penrose: The percentage of invoices paid within 10 working days of receipt was 97.45% in March and 98.05% in April 2010.

Departmental Flags

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what his policy is on flying the Union flag each day from each official building for which his Department is responsible.

John Penrose: The Department flies the Union flag every day of the year in accordance with the guidance for the flying of the Union flag on UK Government buildings. The guidance is available on the DCMS website
	http://www.culture.gov.uk/what_we_do/honours/7124.aspx

Departmental Translation Services

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of translating information distributed in the UK by  (a) his Department and  (b) its associated public bodies into languages other than English in the latest period for which figures are available.

John Penrose: In 2009-10 the total cost of translating information distributed in the UK into languages other than English by this Department was £2,397.04. The cost for DCMS associated public bodies is not held centrally by the Department.

National Lottery: Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what effect the proposed changes in the proportions of  (a) National Lottery funding for the arts, heritage and sport and  (b) the Big Lottery Fund will have on the amount of National Lottery funding that will be allocated to Wales.

John Penrose: On current projects of lottery income, after the proposed change in the shares of lottery income and the end of the Olympic Lottery diversion after 2012-13, all the non-Olympic lottery distributors including Big Lottery Fund, should have higher incomes.
	On current projections, the lottery funding for Arts Council Wales and Sports Council Wales should increase by around £2.5 million a year each, a total of around £5 million.
	In addition, Wales will continue to receive its share of funding from the UK wide distributors: UK Sport, the UK Film Council, the Heritage Lottery Fund and Big Lottery Fund. Big has to date allocated a standard proportion of funding to Wales: after top-slicing 10% for UK wide projects, 6.5% is allocated to projects in Wales and this will not be affected by these changes. The other distributors, due to the nature of their business, have not operated with a such a standard proportion in the past and the amount of funding going to Wales in future will therefore depend on individual decisions about funding applications received, as usual.
	The Government's consultation on the change to the lottery shares is intended to pick up any details of impact. Full details of the consultation can be found at:
	http://www.dcms.gov.uk/consultations/7070.aspx

JUSTICE

Departmental Mobile Phones

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which Ministers in his Department have been issued with (a) a Blackberry,  (b) an iPhone,  (c) another make of mobile telephone and  (d) a personal digital assistant supplied by the Department.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice has issued the following Ministers with  (a) a BlackBerry: Lord McNally, Crispin Blunt and myself. No Ministers have been issued with  (b) an iPhone,  (c) another make of telephone or  (d) a personal digital assistant.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which local authority electoral registration departments  (a) did and  (b) did not use door-to-door canvassing in their last electoral registration; and what the (i) actual and (ii) percentage change was in the number of people registered in each category of authority as a result of that exercise.

Mark Harper: I have been asked to reply.
	In relation to points  (a) and  (b), under section 9A of the Representation of the People Act 1983, electoral registration officers (EROs) have a duty to take certain steps to maintain the electoral register, including house-to-house inquiries, and therefore it is expected that all local authority electoral registration departments would undertake this exercise.
	The Electoral Commission requests that electoral registration officers supply them with information about the methods they use to canvass properties. This information is supplied on a voluntary basis, and does not therefore give a comprehensive picture.
	The most recent data are published in a spreadsheet titled "The electoral registration data for 2009" on the Commission's website at
	http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/performance-standards/data-collection
	and includes the following headings:
	Number of households sent an annual canvass form
	Number of households returning a canvass form by personal canvasser
	Number of electors added to the revised register following the 2009 annual canvass as a result of an annual canvass form
	Number of electors on the local government register at 1 September 2009
	Number of electors on the local government register at 1 December 2009
	The information in respect of parts (i) and (ii) is not held by the Government.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the answer of 4 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 1705-07W, on the electoral register, what progress has been made towards enabling lower tier authorities in two tier areas to access data held by the higher authority to facilitate the identification of individuals not registered to vote.

Mark Harper: I have been asked to reply.
	Electoral registration officers (EROs) may currently inspect records held by the local authority that appointed them to assist them in maintaining the electoral register. These would include:
	the register of births and deaths;
	council tax records;
	registers of households in multiple occupation;
	local land and property gazetteers;
	housing benefit applications;
	lists of persons in residential and care homes (in unitary local authorities only); and details of "attainers" (those aged 16 or 17) held by education departments (in unitary local authorities only).
	Legislation currently provides that EROs may only inspect records held by the local authority that appointed them. EROs appointed by district or borough councils in two tier local authority areas may therefore not have access to records held by county councils, including data held by social services and education departments. The Government have announced their intention to speed up the implementation of individual electoral registration in Great Britain and any consideration of wider legislation relating to registration will be in that context.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which local authority electoral registration officers  (a) sent canvass returns more than once,  (b) made house-to-house inquiries in connection with the canvass,  (c) made contact by such other means as they thought appropriate with a person with no entry in the register and  (d) inspected a record they were permitted by law to inspect as part of the last electoral registration exercise.

Mark Harper: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government do not hold this information, but under section 9A of the Representation of the People Act 1983, each electoral registration officer is under a duty to take all steps that are necessary to maintain their registers.
	The steps that EROs must take, as set out in that section, include:
	 (a) sending more than once to any address the form to be used for the canvass;
	 (b) making on one or more occasions house to house inquiries;
	 (c) making contact by such other means as the registration officer thinks appropriate with persons who do not have an entry in a register;
	 (d) inspecting any records held by any person which he is permitted to inspect under or by virtue of any enactment or rule of law;
	 (e) providing training to persons under his direction or control in connection with the carrying out of the duty.
	The Electoral Commission published a report on EROs' performance in March 2010: "Report on performance standards for Electoral Registration Officers in Great Britain". The report found that just under 96% of EROs in Great Britain met or exceeded the required standard for the "Completeness and accuracy of electoral registration records", compared with 83% of EROs the previous year.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what records electoral registration officers may inspect to assist them with registration.

Mark Harper: I have been asked to reply.
	Electoral registration officers (EROs) may currently inspect records held by the local authority that appointed them to assist them in maintaining the electoral register. These would include:
	the register of births and deaths;
	council tax records;
	registers of households in multiple occupation;
	local land and property gazetteers;
	housing benefit applications;
	lists of persons in residential and care homes (in unitary local authorities only); and
	details of "attainers" (those aged 16 or 17) held by education departments (in unitary local authorities only).
	Legislation currently provides that EROs may only inspect records held by the local authority that appointed them. EROs appointed by district or borough councils in two tier local authority areas may therefore not have access to records held by County councils, including data held by social services and education departments.

Information Commissioner: Standards

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average time taken to resolve complaints made to the Information Commissioner's office was in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Crispin Blunt: The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) divides the complaints it receives into two categories: Data Protection and Freedom of Information. The latest period for which figures for the average time taken to resolve complaints are available is 1 January to 31 March 2010.
	
		
			   Cases closed  Average time to close 
			 Data Protection 7,674 70 days 
			 Freedom of Information 1,068 167 days 
		
	
	The ICO closed its oldest FOI cases during this period which has affected the average age of cases closed. On 1 April 2009 the average age of live FOI cases was 286 days but by 1 April 2010 this had fallen to 150 days.
	This information has been provided by the ICO.

Liverpool and Birmingham Prisons: Manpower

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prison officers at each grade were assigned to  (a) HMP Liverpool and  (b) HMP Birmingham on the most recent date for which figures are available.

Crispin Blunt: Information on the number of officers employed at HMP Liverpool and HMP Birmingham, on 31 December 2009 is contained in the following table:
	
		
			  Officers employed at HMP Liverpool and HMP Birmingham 
			  Number 
			   Prison officer  Senior officer  Principal officer  Total 
			 HMP Liverpool 316 52 14 382 
			 HMP Birmingham 406 75 25 506

Prison Service: Manpower

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prison service staff of each Civil Service grade were employed at each prison in each of the last three financial years.

Crispin Blunt: Information on the number of staff employed in each Prison Service establishment in the last three years has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Probation Officers: Manpower

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many probation staff at each grade were employed by  (a) Greater Manchester Probation Trust,  (b) Merseyside Probation Trust,  (c) Staffordshire and West Midlands Trust in the West Midlands area and  (d) Wales Probation Trust in South Wales on the most recent date for which figures are available.

Crispin Blunt: The latest available staff in post figures at 30 September 2009(1) are shown in the following table. The Staffordshire/West Midlands and Wales mergers did not take place until April 2010, so are shown as separate areas in the table.
	
		
			  Number 
			  Job group  Greater Manchester  Merseyside( 1)  Staffordshire  West Midlands  Dyfed Powys  Gwent  North Wales  South Wales 
			 Area/district manager 13.00 0.00 3.00 27.00 2.00 1.00 9.00 14.59 
			 Assistant chief officer 11.00 7.00 0.00 16.60 0.00 5.00 3.00 5.00 
			 Chief officer 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 
			 Deputy chief officer 3.00 2.00 2.00 4.70 2.00 0.00 0.00 2.00 
			 Middle manager 39.60 55.44 26.61 106.98 16.30 17.50 6.40 54.73 
			 Other operational staff 143.26 0.00 7.17 68.48 2.00 21.76 19.82 13.29 
			 Other staff 1.57 0.00 0.00 3.00 3.41 2.00 6.60 9.00 
			 Practice development assessor 4.00 3.00 1.50 7.60 0.60 0.00 0.00 4.60 
			 Probation Officer 340.87 207.23 131.90 355.12 35.10 73.14 64.00 132.62 
			 Probation services officer 258.63 225.97 86.44 400.59 44.50 55.43 50.86 171.25 
			 Psychologist 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.00 0.00 0.00 1.00 0.00 
			 Senior practitioner 73.92 0.00 0.00 3.50 0.00 0.00 12.21 0.00 
			 Support staff administration 319.04 126.52 95.66 398.93 34.30 57.63 53.78 109.23 
			 Support staff-other 33.50 58.03 30.79 43.56 16.49 10.42 12.11 31.44 
			 Trainee probation officer 49.92 29.00 0.00 23.00 13.00 8.00 17.00 15.00 
			 Treatment manager 17.01 4.00 0.00 10.20 1.80 4.00 0.00 1.00 
			 Not recorded 0.00 1.00 0.00 1.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 
			 Total 1,309.32 720.19 386.07 1,472.26 172.50 256.88 256.78 564.75 
			 (1 )Merseyside Probation Trust were unable to submit data to the HR Data Warehouse in September or August 2009 due to local staffing issues. The figures provided for Merseyside are therefore at 30 July 2009.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Ascension Island

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects the discussions between his Department and the Ministry of Defence on the budget for Ascension Island to be concluded.

Henry Bellingham: The budget for Ascension Island is set by the Governor of the Island on the advice of the Ascension Island Council and the Government; not by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office or the Ministry of Defence.

Departmental Press: Subscriptions

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what newspapers, magazines and other periodicals are provided for each  (a) Ministerial and  (b) official's office in his Department; and at what annual cost those publications are provided.

Alistair Burt: As new ministerial teams are in place the following information reflects our monthly position as of May 2010 (the latest information available) and our requirement may be subject to further change.
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary's Private Office and Special Advisers receive the following papers and periodicals Monday to Friday, or when published, at a cost of £762.44 per month:  Daily Mail x three,  Daily Telegraph x four,  Financial Times x three,  Guardian x four,  International Herald Tribune x two,  The Sun x four,  The Times x four,  Spectator,  Private Eye.
	My hon. Friend Henry Bellingham's Private Office receives the following newspapers and magazines Monday to Friday or when published, at a cost of £150.50 per month:  The Times, The Independent, The Guardian, Daily Mail, Financial Times, Daily Telegraph and two copies of  The Economist.
	My hon. Friend Jeremy Browne's Private Office receives the following newspapers and magazines Monday to Thursday or when published, at a cost of £161.34 per month:  Financial Times, The Times, Telegraph, Guardian, The Mail, International Herald Tribune, Independent, The Sun, Mirror, The Express, New Statesman, Economist, The Spectator.
	My hon. Friend David Lidington's Private Office receives the following papers and periodicals Monday to Friday, or when published, at a cost of £129.86 per month:  Financial Times, The Times, The Independent, The Guardian, The Telegraph, Daily Mail, Daily Express, The Sun, Daily Mirror.
	My noble Friend the right hon. Lord Howell's Private Office receives one copy of the following papers and periodicals Monday to Friday, or when published at a cost of £124.70 per month:  The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Times, the Financial Times, the Economist and New Statesman.
	My Private Office receives one copy of each of the following papers Monday to Thursday at a cost of £104.55 per month:  Financial Times, The Times, The Independent, The Telegraph, The Sun, Daily Mirror, Daily Mail, The Guardian.
	We do not have a central record of these requirements covering the offices of officials and there would be a disproportionate cost involved in obtaining this information.

Israel: Nuclear Weapons

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of the documents uncovered by Sasha Polakow-Suransky regarding Israel and possession of nuclear weapons; whether he has had discussions with the Israeli Government on this matter; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: We are aware of press reports but have had nothing to substantiate these claims. We have not had any discussions with the Israeli Government regarding this matter.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment the Government has made of whether the linkage made by the government of Israel between access for aid and reconstruction materials and the refusal of Hamas to renounce violence constitutes collective punishment of the people of Gaza within the meaning of the Fourth Geneva Convention; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: holding answer 7 June 2010
	Israel states that it has imposed the blockade in self-defence given its conflict with Hamas. Blockading a coastline to prevent supplies reaching the enemy is a legitimate military measure. But there are limits. One of these is that the damage to the civilian population is not expected to be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated from the blockade.
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary made clear in his statement to the House on 2 June 2010 that it is essential that there be unfettered access not only to meet the humanitarian needs of the people of Gaza, but to enable the reconstruction of homes and livelihoods and permit trade to take place. The Foreign Secretary also raised this in his conversation with the Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.
	The UK will continue to press the Israeli Government to lift Gaza's closure and to discuss these issues urgently with our international partners.

Pakistan: British Nationals Abroad

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Government of Pakistan on the targeting by criminals of UK citizens visiting that country.

Alistair Burt: The UK has ongoing contact with the Government of Pakistan across a whole range of topics. This includes engaging with the relevant Pakistani authorities when UK citizens are the victim of crime while in Pakistan. Senior officials are engaged with the relevant Pakistani authorities on specific long-running cases affecting UK citizens on a case-by-case basis.

Passports: Fraud

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Oral Statement by the then Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of 23 March 2010,  Official Report, column 133, on UK passports (use in Dubai murder), what response was received to the request to Foreign Minister Lieberman for a formal assurance that in future the state of Israel would never be party to the misuse of British passports; on what dates  (a) the Secretary of State and  (b) (i) Ministers and (ii) officials of his Department have subsequently discussed the matter with representatives of the government of Israel; what the outcome of such discussions was; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: We have not yet received a formal assurance from the Government of Israel on this matter. We will continue to discuss these issues with the Israeli Government: we will not tolerate the misuse of British passports.

Thailand: Politics and Government

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his Department's most recent assessment is of the security situation in Thailand, with particular reference to the recent anti-government protests; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Browne: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office currently advises against all travel to the Preah Vihear temple area, on the border with Cambodia, due to violence in the area and advises against all but essential travel to, or through, the far southern provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and Songkla, due to the insurgency in those areas. Elsewhere the situation in Thailand is generally calm although a State of Emergency is in place in Bangkok and 23 other provinces. There have been no serious outbreaks of violence since 19 May 2010. However, there remains a risk that political developments may lead to further violence. We are advising British nationals in Thailand to avoid demonstrations and large gatherings and to exercise caution.

UNESCO: Prizes

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will request the members of the Regional Electoral Group, representing the UK's interests on the UNESCO Executive Board, to press the Board to assess the human rights record of the Government of Equatorial Guinea at its meeting on 15 June 2010 and to withdraw the UNESCO-Obiang Nguema Mbasogo International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences in consequence.

Henry Bellingham: We are concerned about the human rights situation in Equatorial Guinea, and made this clear at the UN Human Rights Council on 9 December 2009, when Equatorial Guinea underwent its Universal Periodic Review. Our ambassador to Equatorial Guinea will continue to raise our concerns with the Equato-Guinean authorities during his visits to the country. The UK does not wish to see this prize awarded given the incompatibility of the funding and naming with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization values and work on human rights and press freedoms. Minister of State for International Development, Alan Duncan, raised our concerns with the Director General on 4 June. The UK Government intend to pursue further and will remain engaged in efforts to find a solution.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

General Elections

Andrew Selous: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what his policy is on payments to returning officers who supervise elections; how much this cost for the 2010 general election; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Harper: Returning officers are entitled by statute to recover payment for services rendered and expenses incurred in administering UK parliamentary elections from the Consolidated Fund under section 29 of the Representation of the People Act (RPA) 1983. These amounts are set out in the Parliamentary Elections (Returning Officer's Charges) Order 2010 which was made on 15 March 2010. The amounts recoverable for the services of returning officers are calculated by reference to the electorates in each constituency, and taking into account any combination of polls. For the 2010 general election, the total of the maximum recoverable amounts for returning officers for the 632 parliamentary constituencies in Great Britain was £2,206,955.
	These are, however, maximum recoverable amounts and returning officers are not obliged to claim them. Until all claims have been received from each constituency and finalised (under the Returning Officers' Accounts (Parliamentary Elections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 returning officers have a year following the election in which to submit their claims), no final total of actual expenditure will be available.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Departmental Mobile Phones

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which Ministers in his Department have been issued with  (a) a BlackBerry,  (b) an iPhone,  (c) another make of mobile telephone and  (d) a personal digital assistant supplied by the Department.

Owen Paterson: The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) ministerial team has not been supplied with any of these items by the Department.

HEALTH

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to the NHS was of provision of abortions in  (a) NHS hospitals and  (b) approved independent sector places in 2009.

Anne Milton: The cost to the national health service of abortions performed in NHS hospitals in 2008-09 was £82.1 million. The NHS funds abortions undertaken by approved independent sector places under contract to individual primary care trusts. Information on these contracts is commercially sensitive and is not collected centrally.

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) special advisers and  (b) press officers are employed by his Department; and at what Civil Service pay grade in each such case.

Simon Burns: One special adviser has been appointed and another will be appointed shortly. Special advisers are not aligned to civil service pay grades.
	The number of press officers employed by the Department is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Press officers  Number 
			 Grade 6 and above 2 
			 Grade 7 6.2 
			 Senior executive officer 8 
			 Higher executive officer 15 
			 Executive officer/administrative officer 5

Departmental Official Cars

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) make,  (b) model and  (c) place of manufacture is of the car allocated for the use of each Minister in his Department.

Simon Burns: The information requested is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Make  Model  Place of manufacture  Number of cars 
			 Jaguar XJ TDVi Sovereign United Kingdom 1 
			 Toyota Prius T3 hybrid Japan 2 
			 Honda Civic ES hybrid Japan 2 
		
	
	We do not link each vehicle to a particular Minister on grounds of security.
	In line with the new ministerial code, Ministers at the Department have given up their allocated cars and drivers and the existing contracts, which were subject to a 90-day contract termination period, ending on the 19 August 2010.

Hospitals: Parking

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on charges for car parking at hospitals in England.

Simon Burns: National health service organisations have the autonomy to make decisions that best suit their local circumstances. This includes decisions on charges for car parking. However, should charges discourage patients from accessing their services or friends and families from visiting patients, or prevent staff doing their jobs properly those NHS organisations have a responsibility to look at that further.

Motor Neurone Disease

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will introduce a national strategy for motor neurone disease.

Paul Burstow: There are no current plans to publish a national strategy on motor neurone disease (MND). Work on MND is being taken forward in the National Service Framework for Long-Term Conditions (NSF). The NSF was developed to address long-standing issues in neurological care, e.g. inequity in access to services; work force shortages and variable quality of care across the country.
	The NSF does not look at individual neurological conditions but at elements of service provision that are common to different conditions. It focuses on the neurological care pathway setting out 11 quality requirements from diagnosis to the end of life, and makes recommendations to transform the way health and social care services work together to deliver appropriate care, planned and delivered around people's individual needs.
	The NSF's quality requirements include a separate section on addressing the needs of people with rapidly progressing conditions, such as motor neurone disease, where services need to respond quickly.
	We are committed to supporting implementation of the NSF over 10 years (from 2005).

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Nuclear Power Stations: Decommissioning

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much funding from the public purse had been allocated for the purposes of  (a) the underwriting of insurance liabilities,  (b) research and development for long-term nuclear waste management and facility decommissioning and  (c) payments to (i) the International Atomic Energy Agency (ii) the Euratom Nuclear Agency, (iii) the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, (iv) the National Nuclear Laboratory, (v) the Nuclear Academy, (vi) the Nuclear Institute and (vii) other international nuclear bodies on the latest date for which figures are available.

Charles Hendry: The information is as follows:
	 Funding
	 (a) The underwriting of insurance liabilities
	There is currently no Government funding for the purposes of underwriting nuclear insurance liabilities.
	 (b) Research
	The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) directly commissions research in support of its decommissioning and waste management mission. In 2010-11 the NDA has allocated £11 million to research expenditure. This does not include indirect expenditure by NDA's contractors.
	The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council's (EPSRC) current research portfolio in this area has a total value of £8.5 million. In 2008-09 the Research Councils UK Energy Programme spent £1.7 million on eight projects directly relevant to long-term nuclear waste management and facility decommissioning. The Natural Environment Research Council has allocated £676,000 for 2010-11 and £2.6 million in future years to decommissioning and waste management research. In 2009-10 they provided funding of £277,000 to projects in this area.
	The Environment Agency (EA) commission research relevant to radioactive substance regulation. The EA is currently reviewing its funding allocations for research. The Environment Agency recover the majority of the costs of this research from industry. However in 2009-10, the EA spent some £180,000 in grant in aid on regulatory research relevant to nuclear waste and decommissioning (approximately 25% of the research costs in that year).
	 (c) Payments to:
	 (i) The International Atomic Energy Agency
	The UK allocated and paid a total of just under US$ 9.3 million and Euros 16.4 million to the IAEA for 2010. A similar sum, but allowing for inflation, exchange rate differences, and the likely outcome of current ongoing budget negotiations among member states and the agency, has been set aside for 2011.
	 (ii) Euratom Nuclear Agency
	It is assumed for the purpose of this PQ that the Member for Newport West is referring to the Euratom Supply Agency. Since 2008 the European Commission has taken charge of all expenses incurred by the Euratom Supply Agency.
	 (iii) OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA)
	As a member of the NEA the UK pays an annual subscription of around £0.6 million (depending on exchange rates). In addition the UK also subscribes to the NEA's Databank, which contains technical information from other NEA members, at a cost of £350,000 a year. However, the money paid by the UK Government for the Databank subscription is recovered from those in the nuclear industry who access/use the information.
	 (iv) The National Nuclear Laboratory
	The NNL operates on a commercial basis, managed through a GOCO (Government-Owned, Contractor-Operated) arrangement and does not receive funding from the public purse.
	 (v) The Nuclear Academy
	No funding is currently allocated directly from the public purse. However, in 2007-08 the NDA provided £5 million to support the establishment of Energus (formerly referred to as the Nuclear Academy) as a centre of excellence for skills, training and business support.
	 (vi) The Nuclear Institute
	The Nuclear Institute receives no public income. The NI income is from individual membership, surplus from events and sales of journals and journal advertising and some occasional donations.
	 (vii) Other international nuclear b odies
	We do not make payments to any other international nuclear bodies.

Office for Nuclear Development: Finance

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the budget of the Office of Nuclear Development is for 2010-11, broken down by sub-heading.

Charles Hendry: The Office for Nuclear Development is responsible for facilitating new nuclear build in the UK. The total budget for the Office of Nuclear Development for 2010-11 is £3 million. This comprises of an administration budget of £1.7 million for staff and associated costs and a programme budget of £1.3 million. The Office for Nuclear Development does not have a capital expenditure budget. These figures do not include the Department's wider work on, policy associated with nuclear security, safety and non-proliferation, nor do they reflect any efficiency savings yet to be made by the Department.

Renewable Energy

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what percentage of the UK's energy is supplied from renewable energy sources; and what his projection is for this percentage in each of the next three years.

Charles Hendry: Overall UK energy consumption from renewables was 2.3% in 2008 (the latest data available). The Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics (DUKES) 2010, giving 2009 data, will be published in July.
	Projections of the share of renewable energy in final energy consumption under the EU renewable energy directive definition for 2010-12 are given in Table 1. These are based on June 2010 Updated Energy and Emissions Projections published on the DECC website.
	The Government are committed to a major increase in renewable energy generation and we have, or are putting in place, a number of financial and non-financial measures to help us meet our 2020 renewable energy target.
	
		
			  Table 1: Projected renewable energy as a percentage of final energy consumption 
			  Percentage 
			   2010  2011  2012 
			 Renewable energy as percentage final energy consumption-renewable energy directive definition 2.9 3.4 4.0 
			  Source: DECC June 2010 updated Energy and Emissions Projections.

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will take steps to equalise the payments made to businesses and to homes that have installed micro-generation capacity for feed-in tariffs.

Charles Hendry: Tariffs for new installations under the feed-in tariffs scheme follow international best practice and differ depending on technology and capacity installed and are available from the DECC website at:
	www.decc.gov.uk/fits
	There is no differentiation of tariffs between businesses and homes.

SCOTLAND

Departmental Mobile Phones

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which Ministers in his Department have been issued with  (a) a Blackberry,  (b) an iPhone,  (c) another make of mobile telephone and  (d) a personal digital assistant supplied by the Department.

David Mundell: Both the Secretary of State and I have been supplied with BlackBerrys.

Departmental Official Cars

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the  (a) make,  (b) model and  (c) place of manufacture is of the car allocated for the use of each Minister in his Department.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office inherited one car allocated to the Secretary of State and used by other departmental Ministers. The car is a Honda Civic ES Hybrid and was manufactured in Japan.

Departmental Public Appointments

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many  (a) political appointments and  (b) other personal appointments he has made since his appointment; and at what estimated annual cost to the public purse.

David Mundell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 3 June 2010,  Official Report, column 99W, to the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland (Helen Goodman).

Departmental Redundancy Pay

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what his most recent estimate is of the annual cost to his Department of redundancy payments for  (a) front-line and  (b) other staff.

David Mundell: All the staff in the Scotland Office are on secondment, mainly from the Ministry of Justice or the Scottish Government and redundancy issues are a matter for these parent bodies.

CABINET OFFICE

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Andrew George: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office which non-departmental public bodies the Government intends to abolish in the next 12 months.

Francis Maude: The Government are committed to reducing the number of public bodies to increase accountability and reduce costs. To this end, I will be working with Departments to assess the public bodies that fall within their areas of responsibility. We expect to publish the outcome of this assessment in the autumn.

Voluntary Organisations

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps his Department is taking to provide additional resources to the voluntary sector.

Nick Hurd: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave during Cabinet Office oral questions on 9 June 2010,  Official Report, column 316.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Antisocial Behaviour

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will re-issue to hon. Members the antisocial behaviour information booklet dated February 2010.

Nick Herbert: There are currently no plans to reissue the booklet in question.

Automatic Number Plate Recognition

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cars have been confiscated by the police on the basis of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) data since the police ANPR system became operational.

James Brokenshire: The information requested is not held centrally.

Community Policing

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on implementation of the proposals contained in the safer confident neighbourhood policing strategy of February 2010.

Nick Herbert: The Government support neighbourhood policing. The programme set out by the coalition explains our approach to policing with greater freedom for police forces from Ministerial control, police forces which are better able to deal with the crime and antisocial behaviour that blights people's lives, and are much more accountable to the public they serve. This includes:
	directly elected individuals to make the police more accountable;
	reducing bureaucracy that hinders the police, and introduce better technology;
	publishing crime maps showing the public what is happening on their streets; and
	regular beat meetings allowing residents to hold the police to account.
	We will consider how neighbourhood policing-working with local government and other local partners-can take forward these aims.

Crime: British Nationals Abroad

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of  (a) all offences committed against UK citizens abroad reported to police forces in the UK and  (b) such cases involving rape were referred to Interpol in the latest period for which figures are available; what the mean time was between the referral and receipt of a response in (i) all cases and (ii) cases of rape in that period; and in what proportion of (A) all cases and (B) cases of rape so reported a conviction resulted.

James Brokenshire: The requested data are not held centrally.

Departmental Manpower

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many full-time equivalent staff at each civil service grade are employed in the private office of each Minister in her Department.

Nick Herbert: The number of full-time equivalent staff at each civil service grade employed in the private office of each Home Office Minister can be found in the following tables:
	
		
			  Home Secretary 
			  Grade  N umber 
			 G5 1 
			 G7 5 
			 SIO 1 
			 HEO (D) 1 
			 HEO 1 
			 EO 2 
			 AO 3 
			 Total 14 
		
	
	
		
			  Damian Green 
			  Grade  Number 
			 G7 1 
			 HEO (D) 1 
			 HEO 2 
			 EO 1 
			 AO 1 
			 Total 6 
		
	
	
		
			  Nick Herbert 
			  Grade  N umber 
			 G7 1 
			 HEO (D) 1 
			 HEO 2 
			 EO 1 
			 Total 5 
		
	
	
		
			  Baroness Neville-Jones 
			  Grade  N umber 
			 G7 1 
			 HEO 1 
			 EO 4 
			 Total 6 
		
	
	
		
			  Lynne Featherstone 
			  Grade  Number 
			 SEO 1 
			 EO 6 
			 Total 7 
		
	
	
		
			  James Brokenshire 
			  Grade  Number 
			 HEO (D) 1 
			 EO 4 
			 Total 5

Drugs: Latin America

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  whether she plans to seek to tackle the drugs trade in  (a) Peru and  (b) Venezuela;
	(2)  what her policy is on tackling the drugs trade in Colombia.

James Brokenshire: Our counter-narcotics work with Colombia is an integral part of the Government's drugs strategy. The UK Threat Assessment (UKTA) for 2009-10 estimated that around 65% of global cocaine production and distribution originates from Colombia or in the border areas of Venezuela and Ecuador. Peru and Bolivia account for the remaining 30 to 35%. Venezuela and Brazil, as well as Caribbean and West African states, are also identified as trafficking routes to the UK and the rest of Europe.
	In Colombia, the UK Government have supported projects totalling £1.1 million through the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and works with other countries in information sharing, raising policing and law-enforcement standards and promoting best practice among Colombian law-enforcement partners. This has contributed to the arrest of high profile drugs traffickers, the dismantling of organised crime networks and the seizure of many tonnes of cocaine destined for the UK.
	In Peru, we work closely with Peruvian partners to support their efforts to tackle the threat that cocaine poses to the UK and Europe. We invest in a range of UNODC implemented capacity building projects focusing on the areas of forensics, law enforcement, and anti-money- laundering work, totalling approximately £180,000 in FY 2009-10. The UK has also supported Peru's introduction of its 'FRANCO' helpline and website for young people, which is based on the UK's 'Talk to FRANK' campaign.
	Venezuela is used as a trafficking route to the UK and the rest of Europe. There is good operational co-operation between Venezuela and UK law enforcement agencies and we have supported several initiatives in information sharing, the sharing of best practice and co-operation on seizures and arrests. This has resulted in disruption to organised crime networks and the seizure of cocaine destined for European/UK markets. The recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and Venezuela demonstrates the Government's commitment to counter narcotics work in Venezuela.

Identity Cards

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make it her policy to offer a reduction in the full passport application fee equivalent to the application fee for an ID card to persons who acted on advice from the Identity and Passport Service to apply for an ID card for use as a travel document in lieu of a passport.

Damian Green: The Identity Documents Bill was laid before Parliament on 26 May 2010. The Bill proposes the scrapping of ID Cards and the National Identity Register. Cards will remain valid for one month after Royal Assent. As was made clear in Opposition and as the Home Secretary has reiterated in Government, the Government will not compensate people who bought an ID card.

Police: Finance

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 27 May 2010,  Official Report, columns 12-15WS, on police authorities (funding allocations), what plans she has to allow police authorities to revise precepts within the financial year 2010-11; what powers are available to police authorities to undertake a revised precept within the current financial year; and what consultation she undertook with chief constables prior to making the written ministerial statement.

Nick Herbert: Once a police authority has carried out its statutory responsibility of calculating its budget requirement and its basic amount of council tax for a financial year, legislation allows the authority to make substitute calculations provided that it does not increase the level of its budget requirement or basic amount of council tax. Where substitute calculations are made, the authority may issue a new precept. The relevant provisions are sections 43 to 49 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.
	Decisions about the level of precept are a matter for individual police authorities. Like every other part of the public sector we believe police authorities can make significant efficiencies and, if necessary, reduce spending or reprioritise with no effect on precepts or frontline services.
	Informal discussions were held between the Home Secretary, and myself prior to the written ministerial statement. A consultation period will begin once the Police Grant Report (England and Wales) Amending Report 2010-11 for the revised Police Funding Settlement 2010-11 has been laid in the House.

Police: Manpower

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers at each rank were employed by  (a) Greater Manchester police service,  (b) Merseyside police service,  (c) West Midlands police service and  (d) South Wales police on the most recent date for which figures are available.

Nick Herbert: The available data, as at 30 September 2009, can be seen in the following table:
	
		
			  Police o fficer strength by police force and rank (full-time equivalents)( 1) , 30 September 2009 
			   ACPO  Chief Superintendent  Superintendent  Chief Inspector  Inspector  Sergeant  Constable  Total 
			 Greater Manchester 8 19 63 99 360 1,181 6,532 8,261 
			 Merseyside 6 15 33 59 235 672 3,492 4,512 
			 West Midlands 7 31 46 63 385 1,177 6,986 8,694 
			 South Wales 6 13 23 50 180 510 2,348 3,129 
			 (1)( )Total figures are previously published, but figures for rank breakdowns are provisional and have not been verified by forces.

Police: Unmanned Air Vehicles

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on the use of surveillance drones by police forces; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The use by forces of unmanned airborne vehicles is an operational matter for the police in accordance with relevant ACPO guidance and Civil Aviation Authority regulations.

Sexual Offences: Registration

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will consider bringing forward proposals to amend the Sex Offenders Act 1997 to provide that those convicted, cautioned or released from prison for sexual offences before September 1997 be considered for inclusion on the sex offenders register; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The Sex Offenders Act 1997 is no longer in force as it has been repealed and replaced by the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Under sections 81(3)(a) to (d) of the 2003 Act, a person convicted before 1 September 1997 of an offence listed in Schedule 3 can already be placed on the sex offenders' register. This applies to offenders in relation to the relevant Schedule 3 offences if they:
	had been convicted prior to 1 September 1997, but had not been sentenced until after that date;
	were already serving a sentence of imprisonment, a term of service detention or subject to a community order on 1 September 1997;
	were subject to supervision on 1 September 1997 after being released from prison having served the whole or part of their sentence of imprisonment;
	were detained in a hospital or subject to a guardianship order on 1 September 1997 following their conviction.

Wickham Research Laboratories: Animal Experiments

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to publish the results of the review of animal testing at Wickham Laboratories; and for what reasons the expected publication timetable has not been met.

Lynne Featherstone: I expect to receive the report of the review shortly and will publish the results when I have considered its findings.
	The review timetable has been extended to ensure that input from the independent members of the review team could be taken fully into account.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Adult Education

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he plans to take in relation to implementation of the recommendations of the White Paper, "The Learning Revolution".

John Hayes: "The Learning Revolution" White Paper was published by the previous Government. We now have a new Government and a fresh chance to reassess the principles that underpin public policy in order to build a better society founded on social mobility, social justice and social cohesion.
	I have long been a believer in the power of adult and community learning and the contribution it makes to the development of stronger, healthier and more confident communities. These views are shared by my Secretary of State and by the Prime Minister. We want everyone to have the chance to be inspired by learning, so that their lives, their families and their communities can benefit.
	We want people to rise as high as their talents and ambitions will take them. We will achieve this by reducing bureaucracy, by putting an end to the previous preoccupation with targets and by making adult and community learning universally available, targeting public support for disadvantaged areas and those people who have had least opportunity to learn in the past.

Advantage West Midlands

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his most recent assessment is of the effectiveness of the work of Advantage West Midlands in  (a) the West Midlands and  (b) Coventry.

Mark Prisk: An Independent Performance Assessment (IPA) conducted by the National Audit Office in 2006-07 assessed AWM as performing well. The NAO, on behalf of my Department, is currently undertaking an Independent Supplementary Review of RDAs and is due to report shortly.

Advantage West Midlands

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what timetable he has set for restructuring Advantage West Midlands into a local partnership.

Mark Prisk: The Government will provide further detail on the future of the Regional Development Agencies and how we propose to take forward our proposals for local enterprise partnerships in due course.

Apprentices

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills who will have responsibility for allocating new apprenticeship places which are created in the next 12 months.

John Hayes: This Department is working with the National Apprenticeship Service and the Skills Funding Agency to implement the redeployment of £150 million of Train to Gain funds announced on 24 May 2010.

Apprentices

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills by what mechanism the announced £150 million of funding for adult apprenticeships will be made available to small and medium-sized enterprises.

John Hayes: This Department is working with the National Apprenticeship Service and the Skills Funding Agency to implement the redeployment of £150 million of Train to Gain funds which will support adult Apprenticeship places focused on small and medium-sized enterprise. Further details will be provided shortly.

UKTI DSO

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what amount of arms sale exports has been generated by the Defence and Security Organisation in UK Trade and Investment in the latest period for which figures are available.;
	(2)  what criteria are used by the Defence and Security Organisation in deciding on provision of support for arms exports;
	(3)  what steps the Defence and Security Organisation takes to ensure that it does not provide support for the export of UK arms to countries where human rights abuses have taken place;
	(4)  what the operational cost of the UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation was in the latest year for which figures are available.

Edward Davey: UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation (UKTI DSO) helps UK defence and security companies succeed internationally. In 2008 the value of new orders for the sale of goods and services by UK defence exporters to overseas Governments was £4.3 billion. Security exports were estimated at £1.4 billion in 2008/09.
	To qualify for UKTI and UKTI DSO trade services, a business must be able to demonstrate that it has an active UK trading address. There may also be circumstances in which it is judged that there is a benefit to the UK economy in offering UKTI trade services to a foreign owned business overseas. This is most likely to apply in the case of an overseas-based business with concrete plans to establish in the UK. UKTI and UKTI DSO however retain discretion on who can access its services.
	UKTI DSO maintains close dialogue with the rest of Government to ensure it is aware of nations of concern, including those where human rights considerations may apply. DSO also keeps informed about changes in export control regulation and reminds companies about the requirement for export licences under the Export Control Act 2002.
	All applications for export licences for military equipment are assessed by BIS's Export Control Organisation (ECO) against the Consolidated Criteria, which require the Government to assess the recipient country's attitude towards relevant principles established by international human rights instruments. The Government will not issue an export licence if there is a clear risk that the proposed export might be used for internal repression. The ECO is entirely separate from UKTI DSO, and DSO is not involved in assessing licence applications.
	The operational cost for UKTI DSO for financial year 2008/09 was £14.6 million.

Bankruptcy: Bexley

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people have been declared bankrupt in Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency in each year since 2000.

Edward Davey: Figures for bankrupts in Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency for each year since 2000 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Bankruptcies in Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency( 1) 
			   Bankruptcies 
			 2000 27 
			 2001 24 
			 2002 27 
			 2003 42 
			 2004 35 
			 2005 68 
			 2006 73 
			 2007 71 
			 2008 62 
			 (1) Where bankrupt has provided a valid postcode (from 87.7% in 2000 to 96.9% in 2008). 
		
	
	Regional figures for 2009 are not currently available for bankruptcies, as they are compiled on an annual basis. They should be available July 2010.

Business: Regulation

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to The Coalition: Our Programme for Government, if he will set out the business regulations he intends to be implemented; and what estimate has been made of the cost to the public purse in each such case.

Mark Prisk: In developing policy options, Government Departments are considering a range of options including alternatives to regulation. Where a regulatory option is decided upon, the costs and details of the alternatives considered will be clearly set out in an impact assessment.
	The Government are introducing a "one-in, one-out" rule to cap the cost of regulation.

Business: Regulation

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether the proposed "one-in, one-out" rule on business regulation will apply to employment law.

Edward Davey: The "one-in, one-out" rule will change the incentives for policymakers across government, encouraging a focus on identifying regulations to be repealed, simplified or replaced by alternative policy approaches.
	Responsible Departments will take forward the identification of regulations that can be removed or simplified. All relevant regulations are within scope.

Business: Regulation

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he will announce details of his plans to allow the public to challenge regulations; and whether primary legislation will be required to implement those plans.

Mark Prisk: We are committed to giving the public the opportunity to challenge the worst regulations, thus putting power back into the hands of businesses and citizens, making regulations less complicated and boosting enterprise by cutting red tape. We are working to develop innovative and practical ways to achieve these objectives, and also examining whether new legislation is needed to do so. I will make a statement to the House with more detail in due course.

Company Accounts

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department plans to conduct an assessment of the effectiveness of the company reporting requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Edward Davey: The Department of Business, Innovation and Skills is currently evaluating the impact of the major provisions of the Companies Act 2006 including the narrative reporting provisions of the business review. We will publish the results of this evaluation later in 2010.
	In addition, the Government are committed to reinstating an Operating and Financial Review to ensure that directors' social and environmental duties have to be covered in company reporting and investigate further ways of improving corporate accountability and transparency. We intend to consult on this issue this summer with a view to publishing our proposals by the end of the year.

Conditions of Employment

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he plans to announce details of the planned review of employment laws and practices; and what consultation he plans to undertake on the form of the review.

Edward Davey: We are considering the detail of our approach in this area, including how to involve those with an interest.

Departmental Flags

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his policy is on flying the Union flag each day from each official building for which his Department is responsible.

Edward Davey: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport issues guidance for the flying of the Union flag on UK Government buildings. The guidance encourages the Union flag to be flown 365 days a year, and as a minimum all Departments must fly the Union flag on the 19 special designated days e.g. Queen's birthday, Remembrance Day, etc. and other special occasions as required e.g. State Opening of Parliament.
	More information on the guidance is available on the DCMS website:
	http://www.culture.gov.uk/what_we_do/honours/7124.aspx
	The Department for Business Innovation and Skills flies the Union flag 365 days of the year from those buildings for which we have flagpoles.

Departmental Responsibilities

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which Ministers in his Department have responsibility for the postal service.

Edward Davey: I have responsibility for the postal service in my capacity as Minister for Employment Relations, Consumer and Postal Affairs.

Further Education

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which further education colleges Ministers in his Department have visited since their appointment.

John Hayes: Ministers in this Department have not yet visited any further education (FE) colleges but have already met representatives from the FE sector. The Government are committed to developing a valued relationship with the FE sector; this will include visiting institutions across the country. I will be making my first visit to a college shortly and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will be visiting a FE college on Thursday 10 June while on a visit to the West Midlands.

New Businesses: Ex-servicemen

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he plans to continue the "Be the Boss" scheme announced in March 2010 to assist ex-service personnel in starting businesses; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: The "Be the Boss" scheme is being delivered by the Royal British Legion. To date, £2 million of endowment funding has been provided to them and the remaining funding for the endowment (potentially up to £3 million in the current financial year) is at the discretion of the Secretary of State and conditional upon an assessment that the scheme is making a positive impact.
	The Royal British Legion will be accepting applications to the scheme from 14 June 2010 via
	www.civvystreet.org/

Northwest Regional Development Agency: Wigan

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what projects in the Wigan local authority area received funding from the North West Regional Development Agency in the last 12 months.

Mark Prisk: The information is as follows:
	
		
			  Project name  District  Constituency  Actual spend 2009-10 (£) 
			 Coalfields regeneration programme-Bickershaw Colliery Wigan Leigh 5,215,899 
			 Coalfields regeneration programme-2200 Bickershaw Colliery Estate management costs Wigan Leigh 11,267 
			 Wigan-Sandyforth Farm Restoration Phase 2 Wigan - 493,733 
			 Wigan-Leigh Sports Village Wigan Leigh 497,600 
			 Ashton Town Centre Masterplan Wigan Wigan 34,890 
			 Leigh Town Centre Masterplan Wigan Leigh 50,000 
			 Selective Finance for Investment in England-Future Industrial Services Wigan Leigh 50,000 
			 Selective Finance for Investment in England-Bakkavor Foods Ltd. T/A Hitchens Foods Wigan Wigan 500,000 
			 Selective Finance for Investment in England-Technical Support For Industry Ltd. Wigan Wigan 7,863 
			 Selective Finance for Investment in England-Ashton Town Centre Masterplan Wigan - 34,890 
			 Selective Finance for Investment in England-Leigh Town Centre Masterplan Wigan Leigh 50,000 
			 Selective Finance for Investment in England-Safelok Components Ltd. (2nd App) Wigan Wigan 35,000 
			 Selective Finance for Investment in England-Bradford Pharma Ltd. 2nd App Wigan Wigan 152,948 
			 Selective Finance for Investment in England-Value Works Ltd. Wigan Wigan 41,400 
			 Selective Finance for Investment in England-Nutrisport Ltd. Wigan Wigan 66,100 
			 Selective Finance for Investment in England-Remploy Local Public Sector Wigan Wigan 40,000 
			 Business Start Up (Phase II)-Wigan Wigan - 99,975 
			 Selective Finance for Investment in England-XpertRule Software Ltd. Wigan Leigh 30,629 
			 Selective Finance for Investment in England-Optima Interiors Ltd Wigan Leigh 19,817 
			 Selective Finance for Investment in England-atg UV Technology Limited. Wigan Wigan 11,793 
			 Total   7,443,804

Sector Skills Councils

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his plans are for the future of sector skills councils.

John Hayes: Sector skills councils have a crucial role in all aspects of our skills policy, including apprenticeships. We will continue to empower them as the voice of employers in the skills system, and to challenge them to perform with maximum effectiveness.

Supermarkets: Competition

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he plans to take to create a supermarket ombudsman; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Davey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend for St Ives (Andrew George) and the hon. Member for Bassetlaw (John Mann) on 2 June 2010,  Official Report, column reference 44W.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Garden Development

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will bring forward proposals to increase the powers of local authorities to prevent infill and garden development.

Eric Pickles: We yesterday implemented our coalition agreement to give powers to local authorities to prevent overdevelopment and 'garden grabbing', by removing gardens from the definition of brownfield land and removing the top down density target. These changes will give power back to local authorities to take decisions that are right for their areas.

Regional Spatial Strategies

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he plans to take to end regional spatial strategies.

Greg Clark: We committed in the Queen's Speech to abolishing regional strategies. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has written to all council leaders saying that he expects them to have regard to this as a material planning consideration in any decisions they are currently taking.

Homelessness

Penny Mordaunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to improve the co-ordination of Government policy on homelessness.

Grant Shapps: I will be very shortly announcing plans for a new cross-Government approach to tackling homelessness. This will, for the first time, mean that our policies on homelessness are properly joined up to reflect the multifaceted nature of the problems that homeless people face.

Home Information Packs

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what timetable he has set for the ending of the home information pack scheme. [R]

Grant Shapps: We took swift action to suspend the Home Information Pack (HIP) from 21 May and intend to introduce legislation to abolish the HIP later in the parliamentary session.

Travellers

David Tredinnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the change in the number of unauthorised Traveller sites since 1997.

Eric Pickles: The number of caravans on unauthorised developments has increased from 887 in 1997 to 2,395 in 2010-an increase of 170% over 10 years.

Allotments

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will take steps to ensure that local authorities provide allotments under the terms of the Allotments and Small Holdings Act 1908.

Andrew Stunell: The Government recognise that allotments are valuable green spaces and community assets, and policy in this area is currently under consideration.

Council Housing: Repairs and Maintenance

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans he has for funding to local authorities to modernise council housing in each of the next three years.

Andrew Stunell: Future funding for the tackling the capital investment backlog in council housing will be decided in the context of the Government's Spending Review. The Government are in addition continuing with the consultation on the reform of the financing for council housing.

Departmental Accountancy

Angie Bray: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what ministerial directions overruling the Accounting Officer of his Department have been issued in the last 12 months.

Bob Neill: In the last 12 months, ministerial directions were issued in relation to two decisions: the decision on the Exeter and Norwich unitary proposals; and the proposal to purchase Blackpool Leisure Assets. I have placed a copy of the correspondence between the Accounting Officer and the Secretary of State in relation to this issue in the Library of the House.

Fire Services: Working Hours

Damian Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will make it his policy to retain the opt-out of the EU working time directive for retained fire crews; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: This Government committed in the coalition agreement to limit the application of the working time directive in the United Kingdom. We recognise the essential flexibility that the opt-out brings and will stand firm on its retention.
	Losing the opt-out from the averaged 48-hour maximum to the working week set by the EU working time directive could have a serious impact on fire and rescue services. In particular, it would greatly reduce the hours which many on-call Retained Duty System fire-fighters, who provide around 90% of operational cover geographically across the United Kingdom as a whole, could be available for duty because many already work full time for a primary employer.

Housing: Construction

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations he has received from the building industry on in-year changes to his Department's expenditure on housing construction in 2010 following the Chancellor of the Exchequer's announcement on in-year changes in public expenditure on 24 May 2010.

Andrew Stunell: The Department is in regular dialogue with the construction industry, registered social landlords and developers, and there have been ongoing discussions regarding the savings that the Department is making on housing construction.

Housing: Construction

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the effects on  (a) levels of employment and  (b) the number of apprenticeships in the construction sector of in-year change to his Department's expenditure on housing consequent upon the Chancellor of the Exchequer's announcement on in-year changes in public expenditure on 24 May 2010.

Andrew Stunell: The Government have announced £100 million of savings from the National Affordable Housing Programme and £50 million from the Kickstart Programme. Using the industry standard formula of 21 jobs and one apprenticeship per £l million investment spend, the effect of these savings will equate to 2,100 fewer jobs and 100 fewer apprenticeships through the NAHP and 1,050 fewer jobs and 50 fewer apprentices through Kickstart.
	However, £500 million out of the Government's £6.2 billion savings announced on 25 May is being reinvested to further education, apprenticeships and social housing. This will include £150 million to fund 50,000 new apprenticeship places, focused on small and medium enterprises and £170 million to safeguard delivery of around 4,000 otherwise unfunded social rented homes to start on site this year, protecting 3,500 jobs and prioritising provision for the most vulnerable.

Local Government: Public Consultation

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he expects to bring forward proposals to assist local communities to retain local facilities; and what consultation he plans to have on the development of such proposals.

Andrew Stunell: The Government's broad plans are set out in "The Coalition: our programme for government", and more detailed proposals will be published in the Decentralisation and Localism Bill in the autumn, after we have consulted informally with all those with an interest across the sectors.

Mayors

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how he has decided the 12 English cities in which he will provide for elected mayors; which cities they are; in what local authority areas the elected mayors will have powers; and when the referendums will take place.

Bob Neill: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Nottingham East (Chris Leslie) on 9 June 2010,  Official Report, column 174W.

Private Rented Housing

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent representations he has received on protection of the rights of private tenants; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Stunell: I have received four such representations. I have also received six representations about the rights of landlords. The sector is made up of around 1 million landlords with 3 million tenanted properties.

Regeneration: Waltham Forest

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what meetings  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials of his Department have had with London and Quadrant Housing Association on (i) the future of Walthamstow Dog Track and (ii) regeneration of the London borough of Waltham Forest in the last three years.

Andrew Stunell: None.

Social Rented Housing

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance his Department issues to registered social landlords on the time period within which they must begin development of assets after acquisition in order to qualify for public subsidy for such development.

Andrew Stunell: This Department does not issue guidance to registered social landlords on the time period within which they must begin to develop assets after acquisition to qualify for public subsidy.
	This Department provides funding to registered social landlords (RSLs)/registered providers (RPs) of affordable housing through the Homes and Communities (HCA) who administer the National Affordable Housing Programme (NAHP). The HCA sets out in their Prospectus and the Affordable Housing Capital Funding Guide (AHCFG) requirements for obtaining funding from the NAHP.
	When seeking grant through the NAHP, RSLs/RPs must set milestones including start on site and practical completion dates as part of their bid. HCA monitors the RSLs/RPs, performance against these milestones. Grant is paid to RSLs/RPs on start on site and practical completion (i.e. when those milestones have been achieved). Where projects are delayed, the RSL/RP must re-forecast the milestone and the HCA will decide whether to accept the revised forecast. If delays are significant, and might impact on delivery of the HCA's programme and achievement of targets, it will consider withdrawing funding for the scheme.

Social Rented Housing: Construction

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of new  (a) local authority and  (b) housing association dwellings to be constructed in each west midlands borough in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Stunell: We do not make estimates of the number of new housing association dwellings that will be constructed in future years. Similarly we make no estimates for local authority dwellings constructed with their own resources. However this Department is currently supporting a number of local authorities to deliver new council houses through a dedicated funding programme. Work on over 283 houses has already begun in the west midlands and will complete over this financial year and the next.
	We are committed to the provision of affordable housing and are reviewing budgets across all CLG and HCA programmes. The position will be clarified in the Budget on 22 June.

EDUCATION

Children: Databases

Edward Balls: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the effects on his Department's expenditure in  (a) 2010-11,  (b) 2011-12 and  (c) 2012-13 of the immediate abolition of the ContactPoint database.

Tim Loughton: We have made clear our firm intention to end the ContactPoint database as soon as practicable. As we do so, we intend to consider the scope for a more proportionate approach to protecting children most in need. We shall make a further announcement in due course. The impact on the Department's existing expenditure plans will be determined in the light of those decisions.

Children: Disadvantaged

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to implement the policies contained in his Department's recent Green Paper on early intervention.

Tim Loughton: holding answer 8 June 2010
	The Paper contained examples of effective practice that other local areas may wish to consider. Any future decisions on early intervention policy will be advised on in due course as part of the Government's broader strategy for children, young people and families.

Marriage Guidance: Finance

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding his Department  (a) has allocated and  (b) intends to allocate in the next 12 months in respect of relationship support.

Tim Loughton: The Department for Education is currently providing funding of more than £7 million in grants for 2010-11 to support a range of voluntary and community sector family organisations that provide relationship support.
	Decisions on the allocation of funding for the next 12 months have not yet been taken.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Former Members: ICT

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the House of Commons Commission what steps are being taken to  (a) recover and  (b) re-use parliamentary ICT equipment provided to hon. Members in the last Parliament who were defeated at the general election.

Stuart Bell: The ICT equipment loaned by Parliament and used by previous Members not returning to the House is being retrieved. Where there is re-sale value, this equipment will be sold in order to reduce overall costs to Parliament, otherwise it will be disposed of environmentally. In both cases, all data and software will have been securely removed.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Departmental Manpower

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many  (a) special advisers and  (b) press officers are employed by his Department; and at what Civil Service pay grade in each such case.

Alan Duncan: The White Book, published by the Central Office of Information (COI) every six months, contains details of the Department for International Development's (DFID's) press team and pay grades.
	With reference to special advisers, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Prime Minister on 3 June 2010,  Official Report, column 99W.

Departmental Official Residences

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether any domestic properties in the gift of the Government have been allocated to the use of Ministers in his Department.

Alan Duncan: The Department for International Development (DFID) has not allocated any domestic properties for the use of Ministers.

Developing Countries: Politics and Government

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding he intends to allocate to  (a) the development of local democratic institutions,  (b) civil society groups,  (c) media and enterprise and  (d) efforts to tackle corruption in the next 12 months.

Alan Duncan: In the coming months, the Department for International Development (DFID) will be reviewing its aid programmes to determine how we can achieve better value for money for the taxpayer and accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goals. Allocation of funding for the development of local democratic institutions, civil society groups, media and enterprise and efforts to tackle corruption will be determined as part of the review, on a country by country basis.

Overseas Aid

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much and what proportion of his Department's budget was allocated in ways that do not fall within the OECD's definition of aid in the last 12 months.

Andrew Mitchell: The latest available figures are for calendar year 2009, during which 2.5% (£164 million) of the Department for International Development's (DFID) total spend was non-ODA eligible. This includes an estimated £122 million of expenditure through the EU budget to pre-accession states.

Overseas Aid

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development to which countries his Department allocated funding in the last 12 months; and whether he plans to  (a) withdraw funding from any such country and  (b) commence funding to any new country.

Alan Duncan: Details of the level of aid provided to individual countries in 2008-09 were published in "Statistics on International Development", which is available on the Department for International Development's (DFID's) website at;
	http://www.dfid.gov.uk/About-DFID/Finance-and-performance/Aid-Statistics/Statistics-on-International-Development-2009/
	Provisional details of the 2009-10 programme will be published in the annual report in July and final details in "Statistics on International Development" later in 2010.
	In the coming months DFID will be reviewing its aid programmes to determine how we can achieve better value for money for the taxpayer and accelerate progress towards the MDGs. Decisions on future allocations to countries will be taken during this process.

Overseas Aid: Public Consultation

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what criteria he used in his decision to end the five grant arrangements intended to engage the British public in development matters.

Alan Duncan: The highest priority for the Department of International Development (DFID) is to ensure that aid money is spent on activities that deliver real results on the ground in developing countries to reduce poverty. To this end, an initial review was conducted of those areas of expenditure where the link between project activities and poverty reduction in the developing world was least demonstrated. In this context, four projects within the Development Awareness Fund (DAF), and a festivals outreach project were identified for termination. An estimate of funds saved from the termination of these projects is approximately £590,000. These funds will be redirected to front line poverty reduction in developing countries.
	A wider review of this area of work is now being undertaken and further decisions on expenditures in this area will be made in due course.

Sudan: Overseas Aid

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what humanitarian aid his Department is providing to displaced people in Darfur. [R]

Stephen O'Brien: The UK provides assistance to conflict-affected people in Darfur through a variety of mechanisms, including support for the African Union/United Nations peacekeeping mission (UNAMID) and other peacebuilding and security programmes.
	Humanitarian programmes are targeted at both displaced and resident populations. We are the largest donor to the UN's Common Humanitarian Fund, with 30% of this fund spent on humanitarian assistance in Darfur. These contributions, along with our bilateral programme, have helped 87,000 IDPs return home in 2008, train and employ 800 teachers, open 64 health care facilities, and install 246 boreholes and 785 latrines.
	We also deliver humanitarian aid through NGOs such as Mediar, Tearfund, GOAL and RedR, which are providing health services for 540,000 people, as well as nutrition, water and sanitation programmes in Darfur and elsewhere. We contribute to the ICRC's work in Sudan which this year will spend approximately 70% on its humanitarian response in Darfur. Due to poor rains and increasing conflict we recently made an exceptional allocation to the UN World Food Programme's emergency operations which will provide food assistance for some 3 million people across Sudan, including Darfur.
	We are currently reviewing all our aid, including aid channelled through multilateral agencies to ensure it is as effective as possible and brings real benefit in terms of building peace and delivering assistance to those affected by conflict.

Sudan: Peace Negotiations

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to support the peace process in Sudan.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for international Development (DFID) supports the two major peace processes in Sudan.
	DFID has provided support for a number of key milestones in the 2005 North-South Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), including civic education, technical preparation, security and conflict management for the 2010 nationwide elections. DFID is also contributing to a programme aimed at the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Resettlement (DDR) of 65,000 male and female troops from both North and South Sudan.
	During the ongoing United Nations/African Union process, we are supporting the Darfur-Darfur Dialogue and Consultation (DDDC), which brings the views of Darfuri civil society to the political peace process and the Darfur Community Peace and Stability Fund which provides small grants to community groups for reconciliation and community development programmes.
	We are currently reviewing all our aid, including aid channelled through multilateral agencies to ensure it is as effective as possible and brings real benefit in terms of building peace and delivering assistance to those affected by conflict.